Posted on February 15, 2011 by christina | 6 Comments
Important Meeting Update!
a local community garden
Unfortunately the planned discussion on the Mayor’s Participation and Communications Corps (MPACC) has been cancelled for tonight’s 9th District Meeting, but we will instead be treated to a different interesting issue. Dr. Carolyn Graham, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services, will be speaking on the City’s plans for turning unused city property into Community Gardens and John Lewis will be speaking for the Reid Elementary School Community Garden on Whitehead Road.
So with Richmond’s foodie rage and growing interest in gardening and sustainability, this is a perfect and timely topic of discussion. Everyone is invited to the 9th District Community Meeting Tonight! The meetings start at 5pm with a report from the Richmond Police Department, so the real agenda doesn’t start until around 5:30pm, so please feel free to attend even if you’re running late from work. People come and go throughout the meeting.
Updated Agenda:
5:00PM-6:30PM
Monthly Report from the Richmond Police Department
Southside Richmond Community Gardens
Speed Bump Locations with Public Works
6:30PM—7:00PM 9th District Community Dinner
LOCATION:
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane (Off Hull Street Road)
Richmond, VA 23224
For more information, here’s an interesting story from November 2010 that WWBT12 did concerning the Mayor’s nod to more community gardens in the City. These Southside city lots are noted as being considered for this beautiful and useful transformation:
801 West 44th Street
805 West 44th Street
807 West 44th Street
3300 Mcdonough Street
712 West 26th Street
4050 Midlothian Turnpike
1301 Perry Street
3911 Stockton Street
4212 Ferguson Lane
404 East Broad Rock Road
Posted on February 13, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Join Councilman Doug Conner on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 for February’s 9th District Community Meeting.
DATE:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
LOCATION:
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane (Off Hull Street Road)
Richmond, VA 23224
MEETING AGENDA:
5:00pm-6:30pm – Report from Richmond Police Department; Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps (MPACC)
6:30pm-7:00pm – 9th District Community Dinner
Concerning the meeting’s major topic of discussion (Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps) below is a statement from the City of Richmond about the Mayor’s initiative to improve communications between neighborhoods and the City.
Dear Community Leader:
As you are aware, the Mayor is dedicated to collaboration, communication and cooperation between Richmond ’s citizens and his administration. Mayor Jones knows that citizens expect and deserve a responsive government.
Many of you may know about the old “neighborhood teams” process. In an effort to improve upon service delivery and include residents and business owners in the decisions that affect them, Mayor Jones has created the Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps (MPACC). MPACC is an integral enhancement to the sharing of information and increased community involvement.
MPACC has two major components:
1) Proactive, service driven initiatives including but not limited to matters relating to land use, public safety, parks and recreation, all of which will strive to improve services and conditions; and
2) Rapid, courteous responses to your requests for services such as fixing potholes, removing abandoned cars, addressing blighted properties, and cleaning up illegal dump sites.
To make sure services are close to you, MPACC has been organized around the four Richmond Police Department Precinct structure. Each sector within a precinct will have a MPACC Sector Team. Mayor Jones has selected co-chairs from each sector to lead these MPACC Sector teams.
Posted on February 10, 2011 by christina | 8 Comments
Plaza Drive In
I’ve been thinking about doing a series of interviews with artists/creatives friends who live in our area of Southside for some time. Welcome! I’m finally getting to that plan. My hope is to create a better awareness of the area through the knowledge that great people – people you likely already know – are increasingly making South Richmond their home. It’s easy to forget about the area since our landmarks are fading. I get blank stares until I reference Skateland, Plaza Drive In or Plaza Bowl. It’s easy to drive down Hull Street Road, Janke Road, Broad Rock, or East Belt Boulevard and put blinders on. But off these main roads are numerous, cute 40s-60s era bungalow neighborhoods that house a very large and diverse population. Unfortunately, the City’s south western gateway communities still feel the affects of the City’s annexation of Chesterfield County in 1970 and have slowly been overlooked by other snazzier and richer areas with better representation.
More often though, I find artist friends moving south, generally to get more for their money. Areas like The Fan, Byrd Park or Church Hill that were once student/artist neighborhoods are way to expensive and up and coming areas like Downtown are getting close. So while we’re more reliant on our cars now, we gained driveways to put them in, along with big yards, living space to do with as we wish, and the best mortgage rates in town. The area’s changing for the better thanks to the great people I know who are moving into the area, like my neighbor and well-known Richmond painter, Tommy Van Auken.
Painting of Tommy's Home
I’m excited to start this series with Tommy because Southside has become an inspiration on his paintings. He imparts such soul into the fading and generic structures that we pass by every day, bringing out their most beautiful side. He also generously agreed to allow me to feature images of his gorgeous paintings on our Homepage. You can see these works in person at his upcoming exhibition of nighttime paintings, Recent Works, at the Eric Schindler Gallery in Church Hill (where he’s represented.) The Opening Reception is Friday, February 11, 2011 from 7:00pm-9:00pm and the exhibition continues until March 11, 2011.
So on to the Interview…10 Questions with Tommy Van Auken
Salvage Barn
1. Where in Southside RVA do you live and how would you describe the area?
Off of Hull Street, not far from Plaza Bowl and Skateland. For all the talk about diversity in the world, my street really does have it. We have at least one of every kind, except maybe rich people. I have good neighbors.
2. Why did you decide to move to Southside and how long have you lived here? Do you own or rent?
Frankly, I moved here because it was affordable. In the spirit of full disclosure, technically I rent, but from my mother. One of the “benefits” of piecing together a living as an artist is that it’s pretty hard to get a bank loan. I get the responsibilities of owning without the equity.
3. I’m really excited to see your upcoming exhibition at Eric Schindler Gallery this month; not only because I love your work but because Southside seems to have become the subject of your latest body of work. What’s fascinating about the area to you? What are you hoping to capture/express?
Beauty, or even interest, is where ever a person looks for it. I like looking around at people living thier lives, the regular places we all go. I know there are places nearby that are a little run down, but it wasn’t too many years ago that people thought The Fan as a dump. I like what remains of the Googie architecture, and the optimism it was built to express.
4. While your home in South Richmond has become an influence on your work, have you found any other opportunities in Southside for creativity?
I don’t know if it’s what you mean by an oppurtunity, but I did a couple of programs with Art180 at Henderson Middle School, which is the school for my neighborhood. It made me feel more involved in the place I live, and was very rewarding.
5. Many artists seem to live south of the river. Do you think the area offers anything unique that other areas don’t?
For anyone else who has been priced out of their neighborhood, see my answer to Question 2. Artists need affordable space to live and work in. Some of us also require the best and most authentic tacos late at night, and I can walk to the best ones in town at the Taco Rey, or Mi Casita.
Taco Rey, Hull Street Road
6. What’s the best thing about living south of the river?
Best Mexican/El Salvadorian food, best access to the river and flood wall, best thrift stores, and best Duckpin Bowling.
7. What do you like least about living in Southside and do you have any recommendations for improvements?
I would like our bus system to be able to serve the area more effectively.
8. Do you think that South Richmond, in particular the 9th District, is represented well in the media or by the city?
I can’t say that I pay a lot of attention to the media or local politics.
9. What’s something you’d like to see happen in South Richmond/near your home?
I haven’t asked myself that question since I started seeing Dirt Woman cruising down Hull Street in his mobility scooter.
10.Anything else to add?
Everyone, no matter where you are: take a walk.
Backyard Garden
This is a good story. This guy is a friend of my neighbor, and had brought his tractor over to till my neighbor’s future garden. I asked him how much to till mine, and he just waved and said, “don’t worry about it”. Next thing I knew, there was a tractor in my back yard, tilling a plot twice the size that would have attempted with a rented walk-behind tiller. That’s never going to happen in The Fan.
Artist statement:
As an artist, I see my job as being very much like a scientist’s, except that I deal with the subjective. I try to understand certain elements of my human experience.
Recently, I’ve been focusing on subjects outside of the controlled environment of my studio. I’ve been especially interested in the area I live in, an older suburb, as I see it on walks that I take at night. It is a place that most people would consider mundane, and not at all picturesque. The places where we spend most of our time tend to be the places we actually look at the least.
I work from direct observation and memory. I do not use photographs because they tend to offer the temptation of a simple objective solution that may not relate to my experience. By the same token, I do not see the darkness outside at night as “nothing”, or a limitation. A person has to rely on their imagination in the dark.
–Thomas Van Auken
Editors Note: Many thanks to Tommy for taking the time to share his thoughts on Southside and on his work. Best wishes on a fantastic and successful exhibition!!
Posted on February 7, 2011 by christina | No Comments
The Mayor’s Office of the City of Richmond has published the latest “Guide to Neighborhood Improvement” - the “go to” document for answering any questions you have about city laws, from how to care for your dogs and maintain your property to the noise ordinance and security. So keep your neighbors happy and read about everything you need to know about as a resident of the city.
IT’S A MUST READ!
http://www.richmondgov.com/presssecretarymayor/documents/RichmondCityCuide20100715.pdf
Posted on February 7, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Ok, if you haven’t raked your leaves yet, it’s time!
The City of Richmond Public Works will be in the areas of “Broad Rock/Brookbury” this week and next – February 7 – 18, 2011. The geographic areas included are between Hull Street Road and Jefferson Davis Highway and Chippenham Parkway.
Here’s advice from the city on how to prep your leaves for pickup:
- Rake leaves to your property line.
- Do not rake leaves into the street.
- Leaves must be placed out for collection by the start date indicated for your route.
- Keep leaf piles less than 2 feet in height.
- Keep leaves away from ditches, pipes, and culverts.
- NO DIRT, ROCKS, METAL OR BRANCHES. These items will prevent crews from collecting your piles.
For a Complete Map of the City of Richmond’s Leaf Collection Program Areas, click here: mapLeafCollectionAreas
Posted on February 2, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Found this curious article this morning in the Richmond Times Dispatch. Will keep an eye out to see if this actually comes out to be true.
A man told police he was shot early today in an attempted robbery in a South Richmond alley. Richmond police Lt. Angela Greene said the man was taken to VCU Medical Center for treatment of a gunshot wound to the lower right leg. The man’s injuries were not life-threatening, Greenesaid.
Greene said the man told police he was walking in an alley in the first block of East 34th Street when he was confronted at 12:34 a.m. by an assailant brandishing a gun and demanding money. The man told police that when he refused, the assailant fired several shots at him, striking him once.
The man declined to provide a detailed description of the assailant.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.
Posted on January 25, 2011 by christina | 2 Comments
MEETING REMINDER!
Don’t forget that today at 5pm is the first meeting of the new year in the 9th District…
9th District Councilman Doug Conner invites you to the first meeting of the new year to discuss events and issues of local interest to the Southside Gateway community, and we hope you will attend! This will be an important meeting as the primary item of agenda is to provide updates on various Midlothian Turnpike Improvement Projects. (There’s always a nice meal provided after the meetings, so you get a bonus for attending.) One such project is the continued work on German School Road and Midlothian. You can learn more from Va Dept of Transportation here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane
Richmond, VA 23224
Agenda:
5:00pm – 6:30pm - Midlothian Turnpike Improvement Projects
6:30pm—7:00pm - 9th District Community Dinner
For More Information, please call Councilman Doug Conner at 804-363-3443
Posted on January 25, 2011 by christina | No Comments
We’re saddened learn that one of our favorite restaurants on Southside, Eat Rice, has become a casualty of robbery, which has plagued the Jahnke Road area over the past couple weeks. Thankfully no one was hurt. The Richmond Times Dispatch has the details.
No one was injured in the armed robbery of a South Richmond restaurant Monday night. (January 24, 2011)
Richmond police Capt. David L. Martin said the robbery was reported at 9:05 p.m. at the Eat Rice restaurant in the 6100 block of Jahnke Road.
The suspect was described as a black male who was 5 feet, 7 inches tall with a thin build and wearing all black clothing, black gloves and a black skull cap and carrying a black semiautomatic handgun.
When he went to the cash register and demanded money, an employee opened the register, the suspect reached across the counter, took money and ran from the restaurant, Martin said.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.
Posted on January 21, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Hillside Court
Today’s Richmond Times Dispatch has a front page article detailing recent events in the Hillside Court area of the south eastern part of the city. You can read the complete story here.
In a related story, WWBT12 is reporting today that the suspect wanted in Tuesday’s shooting has turned themselves in. You can read the details here.
Deandre Rayseem Yellardy, 19, the 1600 block of Glenfield Avenue, surrendered to police early this morning. He was wanted for attempted murder in connection with the incident, which occurred in the 1400 block of Harwood Street just after 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Posted on January 20, 2011 by christina | No Comments
An Email Advisory from the Richmond Police Department, dated 1/20/2011 announces that an arrest in the Southlawn Avenue Homicides on New Year’s Eve. We congratulated the RPD on all their hard work to solve this crime! You can also read about it at the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Richmond Police investigators have arrested and charged Ivan A. “Slap” Smith in connection with a pair of New Year’s Day homicides in the city. Smith, 29, of the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike, was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Investigators were called to the 1700 block of Southlawn Avenue just after 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 for a report of shots fired. When they arrived they found Alex R. Arrington Jr., 25, shot to death outside and Coraliss A. Logan, 25, shot to death inside a vehicle a block away.
Investigators worked around the clock on this case and credit tips from the community for helping to make the arrest.
They still ask anyone with any information about this crime to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637 first using the word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.
Posted on January 19, 2011 by christina | No Comments
The Richmond Times Dispatch has just reported an update on yesterday’s shooting incident in the Hillside Court area of Richmond.
Richmond police today were searching for several males believed to have been involved in the shooting of two women, one fatally, in the Hillside Court area of Richmond shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Police spokesman Gene Lepley said both suffered gunshot wounds and that the shootings were believed related, but he had no further information.
The dead woman was identified as Regina N. Doctor, 29, of the 1400 block of Harwood Street.
The wounded woman was taken to VCU Medical Center, where she was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, Capt. David L. Martin said this morning. Lepley said the shooting is believed to have started in the 1800 block of Southlawn Avenue and continued near the Hillside Court Community Center at 1500 Harwood Street. He said the two women were victims and were not shooting at each other.
Martin said two or three males were seen running from the area and are considered persons of interest in the shootings. No detailed descriptions were available. Police this afternoon said investigators were pursuing several strong leads thanks to tips from the community, but they remained interested in hearing from others.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000 or text Crime Stoppers at 274637 first using the word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both methods are anonymous.
Posted on January 19, 2011 by christina | No Comments
9th District Councilman Doug Conner invites you to the first meeting of the new year to discuss events and issues of local interest to the Southside Gateway community, and we hope you will attend! This will be an important meeting as the primary item of agenda is to provide updates on various Midlothian Turnpike Improvement Projects. (There’s always a nice meal provided after the meetings, so you get a bonus for attending.) One such project is the continued work on German School Road and Midlothian. You can learn more from Va Dept of Transportation here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane
Richmond, VA 23224
Agenda:
5:00pm – 6:30pm - Midlothian Turnpike Improvement Projects
6:30pm—7:00pm - 9th District Community Dinner
For More Information, please call Councilman Doug Conner at 804-363-3443
Posted on January 19, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Our friends over at the great Hills & Heights blog have an important update on a meeting concerning recent crime in the Janke Road area that I’m passing along since that’s close to our neck of the woods. (News of the robbery at Ho-Wah came as particularly unsettling taken into consideration that I was picking up food from Eat Rice around the same time of the robbery.)
The Jahnke Road Community Development Association will be hosting a meeting for business owner and residents of the Jahnke Road Corridor on Thursday, January 20th 6 pm at the Italian Delight (restaurant) located at 6331 Janhnke Road. Richmond police will be present to address concerns regarding the recent armed robbery of the Ho-Wah Chinese Restaurant on Jahnke. They will also be addressing areas at risk and areas with increasing crime as wall as suspected drug activity. They are asking all businesses and communities to attend or send a representative. RSVP – Robyn @ 323-9864 or rmparsons@comcast.net.
Posted on January 19, 2011 by christina | No Comments
The Richmond Times Dispatch has just posted an update on a shooting that also took place on Tuesday evening, January 18, 2011 in the Hillside Court area, which is located east of the city between Jefferson Davis Highway and Commerce Road.
Richmond Police today were searching for several males believed to have been involved in the shooting of two women, one fatally, in the Hillside Court area of Richmond shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Police spokesman Gene Lepley said both suffered gunshot wounds and that the shootings were believed related, but he had no further information.
The wounded woman was taken to VCU Medical Center where she was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, Capt. David L. Martin said this morning. The identity of the woman killed was being withheld today pending notification of relatives.
Lepley said the shooting is believed to have started in the 1800 block of Southlawn Avenue and continued near the Hillside Court Community Center at 1500 Harwood Street. He said the two women were victims and were not shooting at each other.
Martin said two or three males were seen running from the area and are considered persons of interest in the shootings. No detailed descriptions were available.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.
Posted on January 19, 2011 by christina | No Comments
Last night proved to be a busy night on the south side of the Richmond with an armed robbery and domestic assault. These incidents were reported in today’s Richmond Times Dispatch for events occurring Tuesday, January 18, 2011.
Both incidents occurred outside our focus area but I’m including them since they are reported as taking place in southside. Bellemeade neighborhood is located between Jefferson Davis Highway and Commerce Road near Hillside Court.
Man Stabbed, Critically Injured in South Richmond Domestic Assault
A man was hospitalized in critical condition after being stabbed during what Richmond Police described as a domestic argument. A woman was arrested. Capt. David L. Martin said the 26-year-old victim was taken to VCU Medical Center and underwent surgery after being stabbed in the stomach at 7:37 p.m. Tuesday at a home in the 2200 block of Afton Avenue, in the Bellemeade neighborhood of South Richmond.
Martin said Taniqua Boone, 21, was arrested on a charge of aggravated domestic assault. Martin said neighbors who called police told officers they heard a woman yelling for help and screaming: “Get off of me!”
A woman escaped injury yesterday when she was robbed at gunpoint at a South Richmond apartment building. The woman told police she was looking for a friend’s apartment in the 400 block of Westover Hills Boulevard when she was confronted by two black men at 5 p.m.
Capt. David L. Martin said the victim described one as 25-28 years old, between 5 feet, 11 inches and 6 feet tall, weighing 180 pounds, wearing all dark clothing and a red bandana over his face and carrying a handgun. The other was described as 25-28, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds and also dressed in all dark clothing.
The victim said the second suspect told her: “Don’t move and listen to what he has to say and you won’t get hurt.” The first suspect asked the victim where her money was, and she gave them her purse before they fled on foot.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.
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